HAYS, Kan.- SMSU kicks off day two with a 25-9, 25-16, 25-13 victory over Emporia State to begin the Fort Hays State Classic with a 3-0 record. 
 
Meg Schmidt led with nine kills and a pair of aces, Angela Young added eight kills, five digs, and three blocks, and Payton Hjerleid picked up a season-high 19 digs to help the Mustangs to victory.
 
The Mustangs left the gate on a mission, taking a 12-2 lead in the blink of an eye, with six kills and two aces leading the way, including two kills from Schmidt and a kill and two blocks from Katelyn Nichols. SMSU won the set with a .522 hitting percentage, and saw seven different players record a kill, three record aces, and five record digs. 
 
The second set saw Emporia State take a 3-1 lead, before a 5-0 run by the Mustangs gave them a lead that wouldn't handed back to the Hornets. Young jump started the offense, with two early kills, and finished the set with four. 
 
The third set began with a 6-5 ESU lead, before Brooklyn Kusler turned the fortunes, collecting a kill and a block to take a 7-6 lead, before an Emma VanHeel kill and Schmidt ace created the separation that would prove to be enough. Rachel Fink added three consecutive service aces to make an 11-7 set 14-7, and Young iced the game, picking up a pair of kills and an ace in the final six points. 
 
The freshmen continued to put up numbers, as VanHeel put up seven kills and two blocks, Kusler added five kills and a block, and Nichols recorded four kills and four blocks. 
 
SMSU will be back in action at 1 pm, when they take on Adams State.